An 0-5 start had already ruined 2020 for Penn State. The worry quickly became how much it would affect the roster for 2021.
But a total collapse never came for the Nittany Lions. And after winning their final four games to save some face, coach James Franklin and his staff were able to regain some optimism for next season.
Most importantly, that has meant convincing some players on the fence about their futures to return for another year.
The latest veteran starter to make it official was tackle Rasheed Walker, who announced Tuesday he will be back with the Lions for another year.
“God’s Time… Chapter 4 soon,” Walker wrote on Twitter accompanied by a highlight video signaling his return.
Walker will be a fourth-year sophomore entering his third year as the Lions’ starter at left tackle. He became the fourth key player to stick with Penn State rather than jump to the pros.
His announcement came just one day after senior safety Jaquan Brisker made the same decision public. Junior wideout Jahan Dotson and senior cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields had previously turned down entering the NFL draft this offseason. Both Castro-Fields and Brisker are using the extra year of eligibility afforded them by the NCAA because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Walker will help provide some much-needed stability up front as the Lions again make changes on offense with a switch in coordinators from Kirk Ciarrocca to Mike Yurcich.
Penn State will be losing two long-time starters on the line in Michal Menet and Will Fries, both of whom will not return for an extra sixth year. Another veteran, C.J. Thorpe, plans to transfer and aims to play defensive tackle after losing his starting job at guard after three games in 2020 for the Lions.
Walker was one of the country’s top tackle prospects in the 2018 recruiting class and earned a starting job in 2019 after redshirting his first year on campus.
At 6-foot-6, 310 pounds, there remains room to improve for Walker, who was a third-team All-Big Ten selection by the media last fall and an honorable mention by conference coaches.
Getting in more in-person work with offensive line coach Phil Trautwein, who enters his second year with the program, figures to be key for Walker to boost his play as well as his draft stock.
“He’s getting better and better every week,” Trautwein said in November. “He’s growing in his understanding of the game, his technique is getting better. … He’s ready for whoever he goes against, because he’s understanding how to do that. And he’s grown in that way.
“I harp on our guys all the time that to be great. It’s all the ‘no talent’ things. It’s about how you prepare, how you come out to practice every single day. You have to go out there like you’re gonna play your best game. And the way you do that is by how you prepare all week. He’s getting better. Technically, I’m working on some things with him and he’s growing off of that.”
Walker figures to be one of three returning starters on the line headed into 2021, joined by fellow bookend Caedan Wallace, who stepped into the lineup at right tackle in Week 4, pushing Fries inside to guard. Wallace will be a third-year freshman in the fall.
Fifth-year junior Mike Miranda was the starting left guard last fall and could be a candidate to shift to center to replace Menet. Miranda would have likely played center last year had Menet been injured.
That would leave the guard spots open for competition. Fourth-year sophomore Juice Scruggs made a strong case to become a starter when he got more playing time down the stretch in 2020. Scruggs’ career was nearly ended prematurely by a serious car accident that required a lengthy rehabilitation.
Other veterans in the mix include fifth-year juniors such as Des Holmes and Anthony Whigan, a former Lackawanna College standout.